Shipping container for elongated articles

ABSTRACT

A shipping container for elongated articles includes (a) a rigid container housing, including a bottom wall and at least one upright side wall enclosing the bottom wall, and having an open upper end for receiving a plurality of elongated articles, (b) a cushioning member supported by at least a portion of the bottom wall, and positioned between the bottom wall and the open upper end, and (c) a plurality of receptacle members, each defining a hollow channel having a lower end and an upper end and being adapted for holding one of the elongated articles, and being positioned with the lower end in proximity to the cushioning member and the upper end in proximity to the open upper end of the rigid container housing, the plurality of receptacle members being stably supported by each other and the at least one side wall of the rigid container housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Provisional Application Serial No.60/274,136, filed Mar. 8, 2001, which is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes and from which priority is claimed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to shipping containers, and moreparticularly, to shipping containers for elongated articles.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] An important part of the business of a manufacturer is to provideways of packing and shipping its goods to its customers in a manner thatensures that they are not damaged or marred and allows them to beunloaded easily and quickly. The manufacturer must also be attentive tokeeping the costs of shipping materials and of preparing the goods forshipping low, making it as easy as possible to pack and load the goodsinto containers, and minimizing the use of disposable wrapping materialsand containers for its goods.

[0006] Gas springs are used for aiding the lifting of loads, such as thetailgates of automotive vehicles. In conventional shipping containers,gas springs have been packed for shipment to vehicle manufacturers (andother customers) horizontally in layers, with foam sheets separating thelayers to prevent marring of the individual gas springs. As a rule, theconventional shipping containers have been of a capacity that permitsthem to be handled manually by both the shipper and the purchaser/enduser. Weight limits under worker safety standards have required the useof relatively small containers. The need for foam or other protectivematerial, which is conventionally disposed of, increases the materialand labor costs of packing and shipping, generates environmental waste,and requires not only that personnel remove the gas springs but removeand dispose of the protective packing materials. Accordingly, thereexists a need in the art for a shipping container which can overcome theaforementioned disadvantages associated with the conventional shippingcontainers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a shippingcontainer for elongated articles, such as gas springs, that iseconomical to fabricate, easy to load and unload, provides excellentprotection of the articles, is reusable, and allows the goods to beshipped without any disposable wrapping or packing materials.

[0008] This and other objects, which will become apparent with referenceto the disclosure herein, are accomplished by a shipping container forelongated articles according to the present invention, which comprises:(a) a rigid container housing, including a bottom wall and at least oneupright side wall enclosing the bottom wall, and having an open upperend for receiving a plurality of elongated articles; (b) a cushioningmember supported by at least a portion of the bottom wall, andpositioned between the bottom wall and the open upper end; and (c) aplurality of receptacle members, each defining a hollow channel having alower end and an upper end, and being adapted for holding one of theelongated articles, and being positioned with the lower end in proximityto the cushioning member and the upper end in proximity to the openupper end of the rigid container housing, the plurality of receptaclemembers being stably supported by each other and the at least one sidewall of the rigid container housing.

[0009] In one embodiment of a shipping container constructed inaccordance with the present invention, a protective member is interposedbetween the cushioning member and the lower ends of the receptaclemembers to prevent the elongated articles received within the receptaclemembers from penetrating the cushioning member. Preferably, theprotective member includes a plastic sheet, where plastic is used toavoid rusting. The plastic sheet may include one or more drainage holes.

[0010] Preferably, the receptacle members are open at both ends, andeach of the plurality of receptacle members abuts at least two adjacentreceptacle members and is secured thereto to form an interconnectedreceptacle member unit. The receptacle members in the unit are supportedby each other, and the receptacle member unit is supported by the sidewall(s), since the receptacle members at the perimeter of the unit abutthe side wall(s) of the rigid container housing. The receptacle membersin the receptacle member unit are advantageously arranged in a honeycombpattern.

[0011] Advantageously, the receptacle members are of a length such thatportions of the elongated articles adjacent their upper ends protrudefrom the receptacle members for ease of loading and unloading. In otherwords, each receptacle member has a pre-determined height that issmaller than a pre-determined length of a corresponding elongatedarticle to be inserted therein.

[0012] The shipping container, according to the invention, receives theelongated articles in vertical orientations with respect to the bottomof the container, which has the advantage of presenting all of thearticles directly at the top. As mentioned above, past practice hasinvolved packing the elongated articles on their sides, which presentsonly a row of side by side articles at any point of time in the processof unloading. Preferably, each article is received in an individualreceptacle member, thus protecting each article from contact with anyother article. In most cases, the articles need not be wrapped, inasmuchas the receptacle members provide sufficient protection against marringand damage of the articles by keeping them from contacting each other.The protruding upper parts of the elongated articles facilitateunloading the container by presenting a part of the article that can begrasped by hand or by a machine part.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the shipping container constructedin accordance with the present invention, the receptacle members arejoined to each other, which provides additional stability to thereceptacle member unit beyond that derived from having them in mutualcontact and, in particular, facilitates unloading individual articleswithout risk of a loose receptacle member being withdrawn from thecontainer with the elongated article.

[0014] In most cases, maximum density for shipping groups of containersdictates that the containers be rectangular in plan and side elevation.Round receptacle members are preferred over other shapes for strength.With rectangular containers and round receptacle members, maximumdensity of the receptacle members is attained by having them arranged inrows with the longitudinal axes of the receptacle members of each rowlying in a plane and by staggering the receptacle members in a honeycombfashion in which the receptacle members in adjacent rows are offsetrelative to each other in the direction of the planes of the rows by adistance equal to the outside radius of the receptacle members. Thestaggered rows, in addition to increasing the density, retain thepossibility of easily loading the receptacle members row by row usingautomated loading equipment.

[0015] The cushioning member may be formed of a closed-cell polymericfoam—a closed cell foam does not absorb liquids. A neoprene foam ispreferred. The receptacle members may be pieces cut from extrusions of adurable polymeric material, such as PVC.

[0016] One advantageous use for a shipping container according to thepresent invention is for shipping elongated articles such as gas springsand suspension struts, which are generally manufactured by any givenmanufacturer with cylinders of different diameters. For such uses, thereceptacle members may be round and have inner diameters large enough toreceive the largest diameter articles made by the manufacturer.

[0017] To minimize movements radially of the elongated articles havingtransverse external dimensions somewhat smaller than the correspondinginner dimensions of the receptacle members, an insert panel may beplaced into the rigid container housing. The insert panel overlays theupper ends of the receptacle members and has a plurality of holesextending vertically therethrough. The holes are in vertical alignmentwith respective ones of the receptacle members such that the elongatedarticles inserted into the receptacle members extend vertically throughthe holes. The insert panel is stably supported laterally in theshipping container, preferably by shaping and sizing it so that at leastportions of its perimeter engage the side wall(s) of the rigid containerhousing. The insert panel may rest on an upper end of the receptaclemember unit. As previously indicated, the insert panel has holes in apattern corresponding to the pattern of the receptacle members, centeredwith respect to the receptacle members, and of a size such as to accept,engage and stably support a portion of the article being shipped. Theinsert panel may be of a semi-rigid polymeric material, such as a blendof neoprene and nitrile rubber. Such a material provides a cushioningeffect so that marring of the elongated articles is avoided.

[0018] When the transverse outer dimensions of the elongated articlesbeing shipped are close to the inner dimensions of the receptaclemembers so that the articles are stably supported by the receptaclemembers, the insert panel may be omitted, if desired. When, however, theelongated articles are somewhat smaller in size than the innerdimensions of the receptacle members, an insert panel, with holes of asize close to the outer dimensions of the articles at the lengthwiseregion where the articles are supported by the insert panel, keeps thearticles stably supported so that the exposed portions above thereceptacle members do not contact each other.

[0019] The cushioning member may have holes in a pattern correspondingto the pattern of the receptacle members in the receptacle member unitand of a size smaller than the lower end of the elongated article beingshipped. The holes allow drainage of liquids from each receptaclemember. In that regard, it is often important, such as in the case ofgas springs, in which a protective oil film is present on the rods, tothoroughly wash the containers before loading them.

[0020] The shipping container may have guideways under the bottom wallfor easier engagement by a forklift truck. Advantageously, the containerhas a base associated with the bottom wall that nests in an open upperend of another shipping container so that the containers can be stackedin a truck, railcar, or other transport vehicle.

[0021] In accordance with the present invention, the objects asdescribed above have been met, and the need in the art for a shippingcontainer for elongated articles that is economical to fabricate, easyto load and unload, provides excellent protection of the articles, isreusable, and allows the goods to be shipped without any disposablewrapping or packing materials, has been satisfied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of one embodiment of ashipping container according to the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a cushioning member of the embodimentof FIG. 1;

[0024]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, in which apart of the receptacle member unit is broken away;

[0025]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an insert panel for use in theembodiment of FIG. 1;

[0026]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shipping container loaded withgas springs taken from a viewpoint above and to the side; and

[0027]FIG. 6 is a partial side cross-sectional view of the upperportions of gas springs of FIG. 5 and an insert panel.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0028]FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of one embodiment of ashipping container 10 according to the present invention. The shippingcontainer 10 includes a reusable rigid container housing 11 that iscommercially available under the trademark “ROPAK” from Linpak MaterialsHandling of Georgetown, Ky. The rigid container housing 11 has a bottomwall 12 formed by the upper part of a pallet base 14, which includestwo-way or four-way forklift guideways 16. As supplied, the ROPAKcontainer housing 11 has collapsible side walls 18 forming an open upperend 13, preferably of rectangular shape in plan and all four sideelevations—the collapsible feature is not used. The present inventionmay use any durable, reusable rigid container housing. Rectangularcontainers are, of course, preferred for maximum density when loaded ingroups into a transport vehicle. The containers are stackable, and topcovers (not shown) are available to close the topmost container of astack.

[0029] A cushioning member 24, supported by at least a portion of thebottom wall 12 is positioned between the bottom wall 12 and the openupper end 13. The cushioning member 24 may rest on the bottom wall 12 ofthe rigid container housing 11 and cushion the bottom wall 12 to protectthe bottom ends of the elongated articles. In this case, the cushioningmember 24 may be a foam sheet, which may be of a closed cell neoprenefoam, e.g., 0.75 inch thick.

[0030] Alternatively, a protective member 25 may be interposed betweenthe cushioning member 24 and the lower ends of the receptacle members 20to prevent the elongated articles received within the receptacle members20 from penetrating the cushioning member 24. In such a case, thethickness of the cushioning member 24 may be reduced to, e.g., 0.5.inches.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 2, a top plan view of a cushioning member ofthe embodiment of FIG. 1 is illustrated. The cushioning member 24 hasholes 26 located to register with the lower ends of a plurality ofreceptacle members 20, to permit liquids to drain from those receptaclemembers 20. Before a container is reused, it is thoroughly washed toremove oil residues and any contaminants that might stick to the oil andmar the elongated articles.

[0032] Referring back to FIG. 1, each receptacle member 20 defines ahollow channel having a lower end and an upper end and is adapted forholding one of the elongated articles. The lower end is positioned inproximity to the cushioning member 24, and the upper end in proximity tothe open upper end of the rigid container housing 11. The plurality ofreceptacle members 20 are stably supported by each other and the sidewalls of the rigid container housing 11.

[0033] Preferably, the rigid container housing 11 is filled with one ormore axially straight receptacle members 20 of round cross section,which are identical to each other in size and shape and stand uprightrelative to the bottom wall 12 of the container. Each of the pluralityof receptacle members 20 abuts at least two adjacent receptacle membersand is secured thereto, e.g., by bonding with a cement, to form aninterconnected receptacle unit 22. Each receptacle member 20 has aninside diameter such as to receive a single elongated article of thelargest size to be shipped. For gas springs used in vehicles, which havecylinders that range in outside diameters from a little over ½ inch upto 1-¼ inch, the receptacle members may be 1.25 inch ID and 1.32 inch ODand may be extruded from polyvinyl chloride or some other durablepolymeric material.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 3, a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1,in which a part of the receptacle member unit is broken away, isillustrated. The receptacle members 20 are arranged in plan in staggeredrows in which the center axes of the receptacle members 20 in each rowform a plane. The receptacle members of adjacent rows are offsetrelative to each other by one outside radius in a honeycomb pattern. Theperimeter receptacle members are preferably placed directly orindirectly (spacers may be provided if required) in contact with theside walls 18 of the rigid container housing 11.

[0035] The interconnection of the receptacle members 20 to form areceptacle member unit 22 ensures that when a worker (or a robotmachine) removes an elongated article from a receptacle member 20, thereceptacle member 20 is not withdrawn with the elongated article. Thereceptacle members 20 are of a length less than the overall length ofthe elongated articles so that a part of each elongated article extendsabove the top of the receptacle member unit 22 (see FIG. 6). In otherwords, each receptacle member 20 has a pre-determined height that issmaller than a pre-determined length of a corresponding elongatedarticle to be inserted therein.

[0036] When the receptacle members 20 are loaded with elongated articleshaving cylinders with external diameters less than about 1 inch, theexposed upper portions of the elongated articles (see FIG. 6) cancontact each other and cause marring. To prevent such contacts, aninsert panel 28 overlaying the upper ends of the receptacle members 20MAY BE used.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 4, a top plan view of an insert panel 28 foruse in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is illustrated. The insert panel 28 hasa plurality of holes 30 extending vertically therethrough, the holes 30being in vertical alignment with respective ones of the receptaclemembers 20 such that the elongated articles inserted into the receptaclemembers 20 extend vertically through the holes 30. In other words, theholes 30 register with the upper ends of the receptacle members—i.e., ahole 30 corresponds to each receptacle member 20 and is axially centeredrelative to the receptacle member 20. The holes 30 are of a diametersuch that they engage or closely surround and retain the upper end ofeach elongated article against contact with any adjacent elongatedarticle. Insert panels 28 with holes 30 of different sizes may beinserted into the rigid container housing 11 interchangeably as requiredfor each size or size range of the elongated articles. The insert panels28 may be made by forming holes in a sheet of a neoprene/nitrile rubberor some other material with a cushioning property that does not mar theelongated articles.

[0038] Preferably, hinge members 32, e.g., grommets, are inserted in twoholes adjacent one edge of the insert panel 28 for reception oftethering cables (not shown) that attach the insert panel 28 to a sidewall 18 of the rigid container housing 11. Another grommet 34 adjacentthe side opposite the grommets 32 provides a finger hole by which aworker can, if he or she chooses, pivot the insert panel 28 up in hingedfashion about the tethering cables to facilitate removing the gassprings. If the insert panel 28 remains in place on the receptaclemember unit 22, the fittings on the lower ends of the gas springs cancatch on the insert panel 28, which can be a nuisance when the gassprings are being removed. The tethering cables prevent the workers fromcompletely removing the insert panels 28 and discarding them.Advantageously, the receptacle members 20 positioned below the hingemembers 32 and the grommet 34 have their upper and lower ends closed, toprevent elongated articles from entering the receptacle members. It willbe understood that the hinge members 32 and the grommet 34 may beomitted, if desired, in which case the receptacle members 20 locatedtherebelow could receive elongated articles for shipment.

[0039]FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the shipping container 10loaded with gas springs taken from a view point above and to the side.The gas springs have sufficiently small diameters relative to thediameters of the receptacle members 20, so an insert panel 28 is placedin the rigid container housing 11 to secure the gas springs fromcontacting each other. This is further illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0040]FIG. 6 is a partial side cross-sectional view of the upperportions of gas springs of FIG. 5 and an insert panel 28. The receptaclemembers 20 have inner diameters that are larger than the outer diametersof the gas springs. Therefore, the insert panel 28 may be used tooverlay the upper ends of the gas springs to prevent any significantmovement in a lateral direction. In other words, the insert panel 28secures the gas springs so as to prevent them from contacting eachother.

[0041] Thus, there is provided, in accordance with the presentinvention, a shipping container for elongated articles, such as gassprings, that is economical to fabricate, easy to load and unload,provides excellent protection of the articles, is reusable, and allowsthe goods to be shipped without any disposable wrapping or packingmaterials.

[0042] Although the invention has been described herein by reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that suchembodiments are susceptible of modification and variation withoutdeparting from the invention concepts disclosed. For example, thereceptacle members 20 may have different shapes, e.g., conical, etc. Thecross-sections of the receptacle members 20 may also be different, e.g.,hexagonal, rectangular, etc. All such modifications and variations,therefore, are intended to be included within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shipping container for elongated articles,comprising: (a) a rigid container housing, including a bottom wall andat least one upright side wall enclosing said bottom wall, and having anopen upper end for receiving a plurality of elongated articles; (b) acushioning member supported by at least a portion of said bottom wall,and positioned between said bottom wall and said open upper end; and (c)a plurality of receptacle members, each defining a hollow channel havinga lower end and an upper end and being adapted for holding one of saidelongated articles, and being positioned with said lower end inproximity to said cushioning member and said upper end in proximity tosaid open upper end of said rigid container housing, said plurality ofreceptacle members being stably supported by each other and said atleast one side wall of said rigid container housing.
 2. The shippingcontainer of claim 1, further comprising a protective member interposedbetween said cushioning member and the lower ends of said receptaclemembers to prevent the elongated articles received within saidreceptacle members from penetrating said cushioning member.
 3. Theshipping container of claim 2, wherein said protective member comprisesa sheet having one or more drainage holes.
 4. The shipping container ofclaim 1, wherein said cushioning member comprises a closed-cellpolymeric foam.
 5. The shipping container of claim 4, wherein saidclosed-cell polymeric foam is a neoprene foam.
 6. The shipping containerof claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of receptacle members abutsat least two adjacent receptacle members and is secured thereto to forman interconnected receptacle member unit.
 7. The shipping container ofclaim 6, wherein said plurality of receptacle members in said receptaclemember unit are arranged in a honeycomb pattern.
 8. The shippingcontainer of claim 1, wherein each receptacle member has apre-determined height that is smaller than a pre-determined length of acorresponding elongated article to be inserted therein.
 9. The shippingcontainer of claim 8, further comprising an insert panel overlaying theupper ends of said receptacle members and having a plurality of holesextending vertically therethrough, said holes being in verticalalignment with respective ones of said receptacle members such that theelongated articles inserted into said receptacle members extendvertically through said holes.
 10. The shipping container of claim 9,wherein said insert panel further comprises one or more hinge membersfor securing said insert panel to at least one side wall of said rigidcontainer housing.
 11. The shipping container of claim 9, wherein theholes in said insert panel are sized to restrain movement of theelongated articles radially within the individual receptacle members.12. The shipping container of claim 11, wherein said insert panelcomprises a polymeric material.
 13. The shipping container of claim 1,wherein said bottom wall comprises a base having a set of guidewaysadapted to be engaged by a forklift.
 14. The shipping container of claim13, wherein said base is further adapted to be nested in an open upperend of a second shipping container.